To the right city that I met at the wrong time

Dear Montréal,
Have you ever been in love? It usually happens unexpectedly, through a series of events that lead to a crossing of paths that would never have happened if one single thing had been different about that day. These chance encounters change everything; suddenly there is only life before you met, and then life after. I’ve never been ready for it when it happens, but I think that’s a part of what makes life so exciting: the endless universe of possibilites in every new introduction, and wondering how all the pieces ended up falling so perfectly together.
It’s never love right away though. Usually it starts as a great fondness and appreciation for someone new to laugh at my jokes, show me new restaurants, share the same quirky interests, and learn about new ones. It’s staying up late talking all night, sending good morning texts, making Friday night plans. It’s seeing the world through a new lens, and sharing a blended perspective.
You begin to break through all the layers, sharing your greatest fears, your childhood dreams, your hopes for the future. A stranger slowly evolves into your best friend.
One day, the future stops being something you imagine as a solo endeavour; suddenly a new entity materializes into all the visions you have. That’s usually when I realize I’m in love.
Montréal, you were never in my plans. I’ve lived in Canada all my life, I’ve passed through your airport many times, but it was always a gateway to what I percieved as greater destinations much further away. It was a series of events, each subsequent one less likely than the next, that eventually brought me to you.
I stopped looking for a city to love long ago. I eventually became convinced I’d always be searching, finding new places to visit, having brief experiences, and then moving on without hardly looking back and taking only nice memories with me into the future. It never bothered me to think I’d always be this wandering vagabond, lacking loyalty to any particular place or destination. It meant I’d always get to see the best, and leave before I experienced the worst. It made me feel like an adventurer that would never settle. And so, I arrived believing you would just be a summer fling.
You were charming from the start. My arrival to my new, temporary life was fast-paced, exciting, with new things to discover every day. I was exploring new streets, new parks, meeting new people. It felt routine at the beginning though, and not unlike my experiences with other cities.
I don’t know when it happened, but at some point, I realized this might actually be different.
I wonder if it was after visiting Mont-Royal for the third, fourth, fifth time, and never getting tired of the view from the chalet.
Or if it was hailing an Uber from the Latin Quarter at 3am after a late night of great conversation over drinks.
Maybe it was one of the times I went to Jean-Drapeau Park late at night to look back at the island illuminated against the dark sky.
It could have been one of the cool evenings spent wondering Vieux-Port, surrounded by a history rare to find in Canada.
Perhaps it was the joie de vivre I could hear in the Québecois accent.
Before I knew it, Montréal, you became a part of my visions of the future. A future where these things would always be a part of my life, in a place I felt like I belonged, whose history fascinated me and also brought me closer to some of my roots. For the first time, I felt like I was home.
I wish we could have met sooner, and I often wonder how different things might be if we had. It feels like everything I have been looking for in a city is here. I think back to everytime I passed through your airport, never considering once leaving to explore beyond.
You are the right city, but the wrong time. I hate making promises, because I can’t predict what the future holds, but I hope wherever life takes me, it someday leads me back to you.
Love always,
Chantelle
